Sudanese army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of a powerful Sudanese paramilitary group, are ready to take steps to de-escalate tensions between their forces, a group of mediators said in a statement early on Saturday, reported The Reuters.
“We reassure citizens that the crisis is on the way to being solved,” the mediators said.
The tension between the military and RSF escalated on Thursday after the RSF moved some of its forces near a military airport in the northern city of Merowe, following weeks of deployments.
The Sudanese army claimed that the deployment happened without its consent. It said the paramilitary troop’s redeployment has led to fear among people, increased security risks, and tensions between regular forces.
The RSF, on the other hand, said that its mobilization of forces across the country is aimed at boosting security and stability and fighting human trafficking as well as illegal migration.
The RSF is a powerful former militia that has been accused of widespread human rights abuses, especially during the conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region. The paramilitary force operates under special law and has its own chain of command.
RSF chief Dagalo has been serving as the deputy leader of the ruling Sovereign Council headed by army chief Burhan since 2019.
In a joint statement released on Thursday, foreign representatives of Britain, France, Germany, Norway, the United States, and the European Union expressed concern over growing tension between the Sudanese armed forces and the RSF.
“We call on Sudan’s military and civilian leaders to take active steps to reduce tensions,” part of the statement released Thursday reads.
The foreign representatives urged the factions to stay committed to their commitments and engage constructively to resolve outstanding issues on security sector reform to establish a future military accountable to a civilian government.
